EXPORTATION OF CHEESE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume IX, Issue 1010, 10 December 1881, Page 2

EXPORTATION OF CHEESE.

The agriculturists of New Zealand are making praiseworthy efforts to promote the exportation of cheese, and although recent trial shipments have failed, we feel confident will ultimately devise a system under which a regular trade in that valuable commodity may be conducted- The latest experiment was made on board the ship Pleiades during a trip from New Zealand to London. I he captain of this vessel undertook to convey one ton of cheese to the old country, and to carefully note the changes which it underwent during the voyage. He did this on his own account, weich makes the work all the more valuable; and succeeded in landing the lot without any losses. He describes the mode of keeping the cheese on board ship as follows “ I had shelves put up in the foremost cabin, close to the saloon door, being about the coolest berth in the ship. During the cold weather the cheeses remained firm and solid, although took the precaution to turn them every" week. Going through the tropics was a most trying (time, the thermometer being 86’ in the cheese room, with the port and door open. The oil came out of the new cheeses very freely, and several pieces fell out of them through the opening in the shelves in one night. I filled the shelves in and took the precaution to turn the cheese every morning. The older cheeses remained firm, although rather greasy on the outside. The oldest one remained perfectly dry and hard, although I noticed that one or two of them had “ hoppers ” or small “ maggots ” in it; and, after getting through the hot

•weather, I noticed that some of the cheeses cracked and sank down in the middle, which I conclude would he on account of their fermenting during the hot weather, and going back to their original state in cooler weather. I may remark here that the old and older cheese was as good (if not better) parsing through the tropics as wlhen it came on board.” 'When 53 days out, the captain examined some cheeses which had been shipped in a case. He found these oily, and giving signs of putridity; but he saved these by unpacking them and storing upon the open shelves with his own. Covering the cheeses entirely with calico he thinks a bad plan, as it retains the oil, which becomes putrid, and he considers that with ordinary precautions there would not be the slightest difficulty in New Zealand cheese standing the voyage to England, provided it was tolerably old, not over 251 b. in size, sound and dry and packed in long tussock grass (not hay), and sent so as not to arrive in England in the hottest months, as it would then have an opportunity of becoming firm and hard again after passing through the tropics.